Landscape Your Way to a Healthier You
How Landscaping Can Help You Accomplish All Those
Pestering New Year's Resolutions
by Melanie Albright
The New Year tends to bring countless New Year's
resolutions, most of which have something to do with improving
health. Landscaping can offer more than just aesthetic appeal.
In fact, it can help in achieving these new goals as plants
extend many physical and mental health benefits to humans.
Simply having a beautifully landscaped yard can
improve an individual's physical health for a number of reasons.
Plants provide fresh physical surroundings by removing
pollutants from the air and purifying it. By separating carbon
dioxide, plants increase oxygen levels making the air cleaner
around the home, thus improving the health of those who live
inside.
Plants also moderate temperature by providing shade
and blocking harsh wind, reduce headache inducers like the
sun's glare and bothersome noise and obscure unattractive
views. All of these benefits make the idea of relaxing outside
much more appealing which can improve physical health by
soaking up Vitamin D from the sun.
While physical health is important and can be improved
by landscaping, it is vital to not overlook the importance of
mental health. Stress can severely affect a person in many
ways. A relaxation method is just outside your window.
Gazing out at a yard with nicely-kept landscaping for
just five minutes promotes stress relief and reduces negative
emotions. Furthermore, studies show that people respond very
positively to an outdoor environment abundant in plants, trees
and other shrubbery.
The importance of landscaping cannot be overstated. It
is evident that a well landscaped environment provides benefits
far beyond increasing the value of a property. In respects to
health and well-being, it can be beneficial for an individual both
physically and mentally. This should be kept in mind as this
New Year begins and resolutions and goals are set to improve
health. 
Tips and Tricks
to Optimize Your New Landscaping
1. To protect your new – or existing – pavers from wear
and tear, you can have them sealed which will optimize
their durability as well as give them a beautiful shine.
2. Cover softer plants with light sheets (not plastic) when
a freeze warning has been announced. If you don’t get
a chance to cover them, be sure not to cut back plants
that were damaged in the cold weather too
Did You Know?
prematurely. The frozen part can actually protect the
plant from future freezes, thus, cutting plants back too
early can prevent them from surviving the winter.
3. Getting your lawn aerated now can get the root system
ready to accept fertilizer for the spring, which is a
productive measure taken to ensure the highest quality
of a new lawn.
Before

Landscape values increase over time as the
landscapes fill in and mature.

Landscaping can reduce air condition costs by
providing shade and cooling the area.

Featured Job:
Landscaping can repel and attract animals.
After